Table of Contents

Planning

There’s a growing body of research finding that instructional materials can have as large an impact on student outcomes as teacher quality or reduced class size. Developing a process for the selection and implementation of quality instructional materials is more important than ever with the growing number of available resources for both core courses and supplemental materials.

High quality digital instructional materials go beyond the digital textbook to include video, audio, animation, simulations, and interactive applications that are aligned to standards, address educational goals and are accessible for all students.

States with an instructional materials adoption process can be a resource for districts, which can be especially valuable in smaller districts that may lack the human capacity to conduct extensive reviews of materials. Effective planning is essential when selecting quality instructional materials aligned to standards, whether your state adopts resources as a service to districts or your district conducts the adoption process.

Key Questions

What is the catalyst to select and adopt new instructional materials?

Are you planning to select a new core full course curriculum for a specific content area?

Are you considering implementing supplemental materials to support current core materials?

Are you implementing digital instructional materials?

Beyond alignment to learning standards, what other quality criteria will you use?

Do you include accessibility for all students as part of your process?

With high-quality teaching and high-quality instructional materials students are more likely to learn. Establishing these conditions for all learners will help close achievement gaps. Explore High-Quality Curricula and Team-Based Professional Learning: A Perfect Partnership for Equity for rationale, lessons from practitioners, and action steps.

With the transformation to digital learning, more and more states are enacting policies and guidelines to support the implementation and utilization of digital instructional materials, applications and resources. This publication highlights how state policies and guidance are supporting the transformation to digital learning, specifically the policies and processes around the selection, curation, procurement and funding of digital instructional materials.

Quality Materials

Many factors contribute to quality instructional materials. Though definitions may vary somewhat from one professional organization to the next, all agree that quality materials should be robust materials aligned to learning standards regardless of whether the materials are print or digital, full course materials or supplemental materials, open or all rights reserved copyright.

SETDA Criteria

Quality instructional materials are content-rich materials aligned to standards that are fully accessible and free from bias. They support sound pedagogy and balanced assessment to help teachers understand and interpret student performance.

Quality Instructional Materials must be:

Aligned to state, district, and building learning standards as measured by widely-accepted evaluation tools.

Current, relevant, and accurate content that is user friendly, fully accessible for all learners, and free from bias.

Full-course, core instructional material should:

Emphasize the key areas of focus within each course, addressing the progression of learning skills, and vertically articulating content with other courses to ensure coherence.

Support differentiated learning behaviors and include resources for students who struggle and opportunities for students to be challenged.

Include a balanced assessment strategy to help teachers understand and interpret student performance.

Incorporate technology, where appropriate, that supports quality teaching and learning.

Criteria from Others

State Definitions

DMAPS
Currently, 16 states have a definition for digital instructional materials. Visit the DMAPS portal to learn more.

Association of American Publishers

Association of American Publishers
Delivering an effective education to all students is a shared responsibility.To achieve success publishers, schools, and all levels of government must work together to ensure that every teacher and student has access to a range of high-quality instructional materials. Engaging, effective, and diverse educational resources that promote learning, foster skills, and accelerate student achievement are central to the core themes listed above.

Content – Aligned to core standards and objectives that lead to college and career readiness and is structured to ensure that all students meet grade-specific expectations as they develop literacy skills.

Accessibility– Materials are free from bias in their portrayal of ethnic groups, gender, age, disabilities, cultures, religion, etc., and contain accommodations for multiple learning styles, students with exceptionalities, English Language Learners, and cultural differences. They are durable and of high quality in physical structure, and are designed to promote optimal learning experiences for all students.

Pedagogical Design– Materials provide tools for a balanced approach to assessment including both formative and summative assessments in multiple formats not only to guide instruction but also to identify student mastery of content. Information is organized logically and presented clearly using multiple methods and modes for delivering instruction that motivate and increase literacy as students engage in high interest, authentic activities. Instructional design utilizes research-based instructional strategies, offers suggestions for appropriate scaffolding, emphasizes the importance of vocabulary acquisition, provides opportunities to engage in high interest, age-appropriate activities that mirror real-life situations, and make cross-curricular, global connections.

School District of Middletown

School District of Middletown: Chester, NYQuality instructional materials are content rich materials aligned to Common Core Standards, equitably accessible, that support sound pedagogy, balanced assessments, and success for all learners.

Quality Materials

Today’s instructional materials include resources delivered via different platforms and carrying different types of licenses. However, the criteria used to judge quality and alignment to learning standards needs to be the same regardless of whether the materials are print or digital, open, or all rights reserved copyright.

Checklists

Utah Definition of Instructional Materials

Systematically arranged content in text, digital, Braille and large print, and audio format which may be used within the state curriculum framework for courses of study by students in public schools, including textbooks, workbooks, computer software, online or internet courses, CDs or DVDs, and multiple forms of communication media.

Shifting to Digital

When considering digital instructional materials, in addition to the quality standards for print materials, leaders need to ensure that the materials will be easily and seamlessly accessible for all learners. In addition, the digital version of materials should leverage technology tools and resources so that it is dynamic, interactive and engaging.

Digital Considerations

Access: Both high-speed broadband and device access, in and out of school, are critical to fully implementing digital instructional materials to support college and career goals.

Interoperability Considerations: The acquisition of complementary systems that work together is a necessary condition to efficiently implement digital instructional materials and resources and maximize the benefits of those resources.

Accessibility for All Students: Providing accessibility for all students must be a consideration when acquiring, developing and implementing digital instructional materials.

Is the broadband infrastructure sufficient for simultaneous access for most users?

Is wi-fi available on campus in all learning spaces ?

Do all students and teachers have internet access at home, and/or the community to effectively utilize the instructional material at any time?

Shift to Digital

In Indiana, Public Law 73-2011 allows districts to adopt materials that met the needs of their students, regardless of format Many districts moved from traditional textbook adoption to digital instructional materials.

Shift to Digital

This SETDA report advocates for increasing robust broadband access both in and out of school to best prepare all students for college and careers. Recommendations include: Increase Infrastructure to Support Student-Centered Learning, Design Infrastructure to Meet Capacity Targets, Ensure Equity of Access for All Students Outside of School, Leverage State Resources to Increase Broadband Access.

This paper explores the steps states are taking to address the wireless equity gaps that exist among their schools. Leaders from Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Utah outline the planning, policy, funding, and management approaches their state agencies and education technology leaders are adopting regarding Wi-Fi, and they share their recommendations for promoting and/or creating equitable access opportunities to high-quality Wi-Fi connectivity.

Curriculum Standards

In most states academic/curriculum standards are managed in a spreadsheet, word document, pdf, or other manual tool. The lack of machine-readable standards makes it difficult for districts in those states to align digital content and assessments to state curriculum learning standards in digital learning tools. The effort and cost required to maintain alignments significantly limits the ability to effectively share digital resources aligned to standards between education entities in the state.

Additionally, the use of high quality digital content across states present significant challenges. Districts from other states cannot utilize digital content if there is not a curriculum standards crosswalk that aligns content to academic standards. Teachers from other states cannot easily use a resource as a primary instructional tool if the curriculum standards are not clearly defined in that resource.

The Achievement Standards Network maintains a list of state academic standards that users may view, search, or download the information.

“Curriculum is deeply important, that a teacher’s or district’s choice of curriculum can substantially impact student learning, and that—as a result—the paucity of evidence upon which sound instructional, purchasing, and policy decisions can be made is a matter of deep concern and urgent
need.”

Resources

Helpful Hint

If school board policies require the same resource across the district, consider an annual review cycle of instructional materials with an agreed upon version for use by teachers during the school year.

Learning Standards

Describe what students are expected to know and what they should have learned by the end of a course, grade level, or grade span. They do not describe any particular teaching practice or instructional materials.

Assemble Review Teams

When reviewing instructional materials, it is important to include stakeholders with different expertise in the process.

Essential Conditions

When reviewing and selecting quality instructional materials, the following essential conditions are important components of successful adoption and implementation of instructional materials to support student learning goals. Learn more about these areas.

Founded in 2001, the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) is the principal non-profit membership association representing U.S. state and territorial educational technology leaders. Our mission is to build and increase the capacity of state and national leaders to improve education through technology policy and practice. For more information, please visit: setda.org.

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